In 2003, Iraq witnessed a major political transformation. After the attack by the coalition countries, the dictatorial system in Iraq fell and was replaced by a federal democratic authority, for which the peoples of Iraq had been struggling for decades. The Kurdistan Region and the Kurd people in particular played a major role in this change in Iraq and it was their legitimate right to be the first beneficiaries of these changes, by having all their national rights enshrined in the new Iraqi constitution. Through the tireless efforts of the Kurdish political leadership and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the constitutional rights of the Kurd people were enshrined in the new Iraqi constitution, and the Kurdistan Region stepped from a closed, besieged region towards a federal democratic region open to the world, and later became a safe haven for all democrats, not only in Iraq but in the entire region.
The rapid changes after the liberation of Iraq encouraged all political parties and mass organizations to also renew themselves and move quickly with the changes, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party and its mass organizations. Immediately after the liberation of Iraq, meaning after the spring of 2003, the Kurdistan Students Union quickly opened its centers and headquarters in most Iraqi cities, especially in Baghdad and the areas within the border of Article 140, and prepared itself to hold a new Congress. After the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Kurdistan Students Union, it was decided to hold the Eleventh Congress of the organization as soon as possible, and for this purpose, the Congress Preparatory Committee was formed. After all preparations and the success of the Congress members, it was decided to hold the Congress for the first time in the city of Duhok1.
Conducting the Congress:The Congress began its work on the days between July 30 and August 4, 2004, in the hall of the College of Agriculture at the University of Duhok, with the presence of 386 representatives from all organizations, under the slogan (Science, Freedom, Development)2. The Congress began its work with the presence of Ali Shangali, representative of President Barzani, and Rebwar Yalda, head of the Central Office of Professional Organizations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and for the first time, representatives from Baghdad and Khanaqin were present at the Congress3.
On the first day of the Congress, several committees were formed, and later the new Executive Committee staff were elected by voting, which consisted of:
1- Sarhang Zahir
2- Hoshmand Rafaat
3- Sidqi Mahmoud
4- Zeravan Hussein
5- Dilshad Shaban
6- Anas Ayoub
7- Muaz Abdullah
8- Mushir Muhammad
9- Karzan Sadradin
10- Imad Ali
11- Rahel Hassan Sabri
12- Hemin Bajalan
13- Jaafar
14- Tahir Muhammad Ahmad
15- Sarwa Salih Mustafa
16- Kawa Rasul Muhammad4.
After the election of the members of the Executive Committee, the preparation and approval of the committees' reports, on August 1, the election to determine the Secretary and members of the Secretariat began, and as a result, the new Secretariat was elected as follows:
1- Baravan Hamdi - Secretary
2- Lawand Osman - Member of the Secretariat Office
3- Kurdo Ihsan - Member of the Secretariat Office
4- Arian Salahaddin Asaad - Member of the Secretariat Office
5- Renas Jano Muhammad, known as Renas Bamarni - Member of the Secretariat Office
6- Navsar Nuri - Member of the Secretariat Office
7- Fakhraddin Mahdi Jarjis - Member of the Secretariat Office
8- Shirwan Hito - Member of the Secretariat Office
9- Awat Karokh - Member of the Secretariat Office
10- Hemin Rashid Zaidan - known as Hemin Bajalan, Member of the Secretariat Office
11- Mardan Khidr - Member of the Secretariat Office
12- Khamlan Muhammad Salih - Member of the Secretariat Office
13- Sangar Kanabi Hamasalih - known as Sangar Kanabi Gawra, Member of the Secretariat Office
14- Yasin Salih - Reserve member of the Secretariat Office5.
The structure of the Kurdistan Students Union in this Congress consisted of 16 branches, which were the branches of: Erbil, Salahaddin University, Soran University, Duhok University, Mosul, Akre branch, Zakho, Kirkuk University, Garmian, Sulaymaniyah, Sulaymaniyah University, Halabja, Raparin, Soran, Kirkuk, and the Baghdad branch6.
Sources and footnotes
1- Erfan Aziz Aziz, Congresses and Conferences of the Kurdistan Students Union, First Edition, (Erbil - Rojhalat Printing House - 2012), p. 174.
2- Final Statement of the Eleventh Congress (K.S.U), Rwanin Newspaper, Kurdistan Students Union, Issue 11, Erbil, October 11, 2004 AD, p. 2.
3- Musa Ahmad, With the participation of 370 representatives, the Eleventh Congress of the Kurdistan Students Union begins today, Khabat Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Issue 1517, Erbil, Monday, August 2, 2004 AD, p. 3.
4- Erfan Aziz Aziz, previous source, p. 176.
5- Sirwan Osman, A Shining History and an Uninterrupted Caravan, (Erbil - Ministry of Culture Printing House - 2014), p. 50.
6- Erfan Aziz Aziz, previous source, pp. 176, 178.